


Hidden in plain sight

by RKG



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Marichat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-21 19:30:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12464376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RKG/pseuds/RKG
Summary: Ladybug had supposedly died in an accident, right? But things aren't always what they seem.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the fic "You don't know me" by Ferisae. I could never do that one justice (go read it it's wonderful!), but let's say the events leading up to my fic are... similar. I just want to do a little bit of fluff between Marinette and Chat Noir and a happy fluffy ending because I'm feeling sad right now. It's also my first time writing for these guys, so go gentle on me, alright? Thanks. :P
> 
> Also if Marinette seems a bit off, it's because she had a concussion recently. :P

Chat Noir landed with a slight thud on Marinette's roof. He had gone there quite often when she was in the hospital just to be by himself. Since she was in the hospital, her parents weren't home, and since her parents weren't home, no one minded that the young superhero was hanging out all by himself on their roof, missing his Lady.

It had been an accident, to be sure, but to him it couldn't have hurt more if he had murdered her. Much worse, he had never found her, so he could never say goodbye to his Lady. They had found a lifeless Marinette in the same vicinity, and it would be just like her to die while saving an innocent citizen from evil's wrath.

He wished it had been him. Everyone loved Ladybug and he was pretty sure she must have a family out there somewhere who missed her terribly, but such is the life of a superhero. Here one day, gone the next, all for the people.

" _It's not fair_..." he sniffled, hiding his face among the window boxes on the Dupain-Cheng roof. 

"What's not fair?" asked a soft voice. His heart skipped, could it be? No, no... it was simply Marinette. She was home from the hospital, in a thin nightgown, she looked a little worse for wear.

"Nothing, Princess." he sighed, giving her a smile. But something was off, the typical Chat Noir grin was devil-may-care grin was gone, in its place was a sad, put-upon, smile that wasn't convincing in the least.

Marinette scowled and climbed out onto the roof to stand with him.

"Chat... if you want to talk, it's okay. I can do that."

She was so nice, and it had been weeks since he had been able to talk to his Lady. In this light, she even resembled her a little, especially her eyes. They had the same color eyes, he had never noticed it before. 

"Chat...?"

Looking into her eyes had struck something within him, now the brave Chat Noir was slumped over, gripping the roof, fighting back tears.

"I'm sorry, Princess..." he choked.

"What for?" she asked.

"I... I miss her so much..."

She looked at the leather-clad boy standing before her, trembling, he looked so vulnerable. Gently, she put her arms around him and pulled him into an embrace.

No longer brave, he let his emotions collapse and sobbed. He sobbed for his Lady, the person he would never get back again. The only one he'd ever felt that special connection with. 

"I'm sorry..." she whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry. I... kind of lost someone too."

"Yeah?"

"Well, he's still there, but... he's different now."

"I'm sorry."

"He's this guy I know, and he used to be so bright, and funny, and sweet, and now... he barely talks. If he lost someone in the Akuma attack, he won't talk about it and he's just so quiet now. Scary quiet. Even his friends are worried about him."

"Who is he? I mean, I might... know him." he asked out of genuine curiousity.

Marinette sighed. "Nah, you couldn't possibly know him. I don't know if he lost someone in the attack, or if it just brought back memories of when his Mom.... well... disappeared. That's the only thing I know."

"Oh... that's too bad." he blinked.

"You kind of remind me of him a little." she said pleasantly, smiling at him. "Same color hair."

"Oh, heh." he laughed nervously. 

"Sorry... no need to feel awkward."

"Oh, nah, I guess I'd feel differently if I knew him." he shrugged.

"I guess. So why _my_ roof?"

Chat Noir tried to think of a good reason. "Because... it has a great view?" he grinned.

"I can see where you'd think that."

"Also it doesn't feel quite as lonely as some places in Paris." he said truthfully.

She hadn't ever thought about Chat Noir's life outside of being a superhero, but she assumed he had a home and family outside of leather-clad hours. However something about his eyes told her that he didn't.

"Oh, Chat... if you ever want to come here, you can."

"Thank you, Princess."

Before the accident, she had thought that Chat Noir was an overbearing flirt, but losing his partner had sombered him a great deal. Now she could see the better qualities peeking through, even if they were shaded by overwhelming sadness. He seemed to be good and kind, and not fake, like she originally thought.

"You know, since my accident, you're the first person I've talked to that hasn't acted like I'm going to break."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah, everyone has acted like I'm not strong enough to take how they found me. My parents won't tell me, Alya won't tell me, no one will! It's making me really, really angry." she pouted.

He couldn't help but notice the way her lower lip jutted forward when she pouted. It was cute.

" _Oh come on, your heart belongs to Ladybug, you stupid cat._ " he thought miserably to himself. He patted her arm. "Maybe they're afraid you'll freak out."

Marinette shook her head. "I know what sort of injuries I had, a severe concussion, some broken bones, some internal bleeding, yeah it was pretty bad but not bad enough to make everyone this secretive."

A concussion? That was interesting.

"You had a concussion?"

"Oh, yeah... I was out for awhile and there's this whole chunk of my memory that's still missing... they said it would probably eventually come back, but until it does I won't remember what happened that day. If I could just figure out what happened that day, I could probably piece together all these gaps in my memory."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah... it's just like, parts of days too! It's so weird. Like, I'll remember the dull and boring parts but I have a feeling that there's other things I'm not remembering. I also lost my purse that day." she pouted again.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah... it was a little round one, I used to carry it on me all the time, but I haven't been able to find it since that day. I know it had to have been on me, I guess it got lost in the ambulance."

Something was niggling at Chat.

"What if I keep an eye out for it?"

"You know what it looks like?" she looked at him, bewildered.

" _Way to blow your cover, idiot_!" said a voice in his head, that voice belonged to Plagg.

"Oh, no." he chuckled. "I guess a description would be helpful."

"I can do you one better than that." said Marinette, pulling out her phone and zooming in on a picture. "See, that little round changepurse? I used to carry it everywhere. If you're around the city and see it, would you please bring it back to me?"

"Of course, Princess."

"I have a name, Chat." something about the strident way she said it reminded him so much of his Lady that it made his breath catch in his throat.

Marinette watched the emotions wash over his face and instantly regretted her choice of words, he had just been being friendly, after all, it was just his way. "Chat, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"No, _I'm_ sorry, Marinette. It's just... you look like my Lady... and you sound like her. I didn't notice it before now, but now..."

Something about the way he was looking at her made her stomach do flips.

" _This is Chat Noir, not Adrien, you idiot_!" 

But Adrien wasn't there... and he would probably never be there. Chat was there, and Chat needed her. She reached up and stroked his cheek gently, wiping away a tear that was falling.

Her touch was heaven, no it wasn't the touch of his Lady, but it meant more at that moment than she would ever know. 

"Mari..." 

The way he whispered her name made her stomach explode into a million butterflies, like a million little akumas had taken flight. Wait, where had that analogy come from? 

"I'm sorry Chat..." she whispered.

Her soft voice was like balm for the soul. 

Desperate to feel anything but loneliness, he claimed her lips with his.

She was taken aback at first, sure, but then again, who knew Chat Noir was an amazing kisser? It was the first time since her accident that she had felt truly alive, like her own feelings mattered and not just some sterile form of 'recovery' they kept shoving down her throat. She moaned softly, letting him gently caress her body through her nightgown. Before she knew it the small of her back was hitting the balcony, bringing them both back to reality.

"I-I'm so sorry m-m-m-ilad--PRINCESS!" the normally confident cat stuttered.

She placed her hand on his arm. "I-It's alright..."

"I... I got c-carried away."

" _Not that I minded, really--WHAT?!_ " Marinette was alarmed by her own thoughts.

"It's okay." she said meekly.

" _No, it's not you cad, that kiss was reserved for your Lady and you know it_!" he chastised himself. That was the 'welcome back Ladybug' kiss and he had used it on another girl. Not that Ladybug actually cared one way or another...

Oh yeah, that's right...

She didn't feel that way about him to begin with.

So was it really wrong, then?

" _No, but_..." he couldn't process his own argument right that second.

Marinette searched his face for clues, he seemed to be so displeased with himself.

Oh. _Oh_. She was the consolation prize.

"It's okay Chat, I know I'm not her." she said sadly, turning away.

Chat didn't think he could feel worse than he possibly did at that moment, but now he did.

"No, no! Please, don't think that... I kissed _you_ , Mari... my... Ladybug doesn't... we're not..." he sighed. "We're not a thing."

Marinette blinked. "But isn't that what you tell everyone?"

"It's more... wishful thinking on my part." he hedged.

Marinette patted his arm. "The guy I lost.. he doesn't know I'm alive either."

"He's crazy."

She smiled. "You're the first to ever say that."

"I call 'em as I see 'em, Princess." he grinned. Suddenly his ring started going off, funny, he hadn't used cataclysm! 

"I gotta go Princess."

"Come back any time you like, Chat." she smiled at him.

"Will do, Princess." he flipped over her balcony and ran off before he could transform back.

~*~*~*~


	2. Detective Plagg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg is the one that keeps piecing this stuff together. XD

Back at the mansion, Plagg was flailing about.

"You idiot, you almost blew your cover back there! If Marinette had figured out that you knew what her purse looked like she could've possibly figured out your real identity!"

"I'm sorry, Plagg! In case you didn't realize I just lost the love of my life--"

"Yeah, you got a real funny way of showin' that." snarked the little cat.

Adrien tossed a notebook at the smart-elick Kwami. "Shut UP Plagg! I didn't mean for that to happen! It just..."

"Oh relax, all Chat Noirs are players! I was teasing! Enough with the guilt, loverboy. Besides, I lost my best friend too, you know."

Adrien blinked at him. "You... did?"

"Ladybug's Kwami. She was my first friend." sighed Plagg sadly. "I'd known her for ever since I can remember. She was the only one I could talk to about Kwami stuff, and she didn't judge me for liking good cheese!" 

"I'm sorry Plagg, I didn't know." said Adrien sadly.

"You've been around as long as I have kid, you're used to losing folks. But, us Kwamis are basically indestructible. I didn't expect to lose her... ever."

"Kwamis are indestructible?"

Plagg nodded. "Almost. It takes powerful magic to kill one of us, and I'm not sure anybody's still alive that's still got the juice. In fact I'm pretty sure they all died out in the mid-ages. Or maybe it was the dark ages. Wait, when was the black plague?"

Adrien blinked. "How old _are_ you?!"

"Old. But I age well, like my beloved camembert!" grinned Plagg.

"You mean, the older you get the worse you smell?" said Adrien, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! I don't judge YOU, Mr. Axe Body Spray!"

"That was Nino's and that was ONCE!" 

"Whatever!"

Adrien scowled but seemed to be contemplating something. "Hey, Plagg?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we stand a chance of finding Marinette's purse?"

"If it had any valuables in it, it's long gone by now." said Plagg matter-of-factly. "What did it look like?"

He wished he had taken a picture of it with his pole.

"Um, I think it's just sentimental value, Plagg. It's round and pink with her initials on it." he shrugged.

He watched the Kwami's face light up in recognition, then scowl.

"What is it, Plagg?"

" _To tell or not to tell, that is the question._ " thought Plagg. " _On one hand, if I tell, Adrien will definitely blow his frickin' cover! On the other, if I don't_..." If he didn't, he stood a chance of never getting his friend back. Ever.

"You gotta promise me something, kid."

"What?"

"If I tell you what I might know, then you gotta promise me not to tell Marinette. Or ANYBODY! Ever! Got it?"

"Got it..."

"The last time I saw Ladybug's Kwami... I saw her come out of that purse."

Adrien's eyes flew open.

"D-Does that mean...?!"

"NO!" snapped Plagg. "No, she could've just been using it as a hiding place. After all, if I hide in a vase in the louvre it doesn't necessarily mean I belong there."

"True..." said Adrien sadly.

"I'm sorry kid." Actually, Plagg wasn't sorry. He'd had his suspicions all along but he didn't want to get Adrien's hopes up that Ladybug might still be alive. There was a chance, but there was an even bigger chance that Ladybug had been obliterated and her Kwami was the sole survivor. 

"So, you think Ladybug's Kwami could still be in that purse? What if it's.... um... you know..."

"Dead? I'll take care of it."

"How?"

"We Kwamis have our ways." said Plagg. 

Adrien felt sorry for Plagg. He wanted to give the Kwami a hug, but thought better of it, he wasn't sure if he'd get bitten.

"But... Plagg, Marinette was talking about amnesia, how she doesn't remember entire chunks of days. If Ladybug's Kwami is in her purse, do you think there's a chance that she could be...?"

Adrien looked so hopeful.

"You look like that time you told Chloe she could go nuts with the styling gel, stop that!"

"GAH! Plagg! Give me a straight answer!"

Plagg sighed. He was cutting it close, but maybe he could give Adrien the answer he wanted without revealing too much.

"Okay, there's a chance that Ladybug still be alive. After all, no body, no proof. But there's also a chance the Yeti could come down from the Alps and terrorize the city!"

"I know it's a pipe dream, Plagg, but... I gotta have hope." his voice hitched oddly. Plagg knew when to lay off.

"Alright kid, I'll help you find that changepurse. But if we find it? I'm looking inside it first, okay?"

"Alright, Plagg."

"Also, you may want to tell her to have it dry-cleaned."

Adrien laughed.

"How do I explain that?"

"Tell her you found it near a sewer grate. She'll be grateful. Trust me!"


	3. Wistful thinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has a brilliant idea. XD

Marinette stared at the back of Adrien's head in study hall. She wondered just how long he had been so bummed out? It had started before she came back to school, she knew that much. And they said that it had gotten somewhat better, but Adrien was no longer a bright ray of sunshine. Sure, he was nice enough, but no longer was he outgoing, in fact he was kind of withdrawn and sad.

She wished she didn't go to pieces around him, she would certainly invite him over for an after school snack, or... better yet... the only time she hadn't devolved into a blithering idiot around him was when they played video games together. There was no harm in asking him over to play video games, was there? No, of course not! It would break the ice and she could again get to be around Adrien. She just hoped he was up for it, he had been distant with everyone lately.

But inviting him over was going to prove challenging. She still hadn't quite mastered the art of talking to him yet.

" _Maybe I should ask Alya to invite him over for me._ "

Or maybe...

She may not could speak in his presence, but she could still type! 

"Can I borrow your phone a minute, Alya?" she asked sweetly. Alya handed it over. "Give it back, I'm checking my math homework on it."

"No worries!" she scrolled through Alya's contacts, found Adrien, and quickly committed his phone number to memory, punching it into her own phone. She then clicked it and began typing.

" _Hey, Adrien? If you're not busy would you like to come over and play Ultimate Mecha Strike III after school?_ "

Suddenly she froze... she wasn't sure he had her number, and if he didn't then it would show up as some random number that he didn't know, not a classmate. Then he would report it to the office and she would be labeled a stalker creep forever and ever. 

But then, that couldn't be right, she was pretty sure Alya had input her number into Adrien's phone a long time ago.

Speaking of Alya, she must have been reading over her shoulder, because suddenly the sent button was pressed and the text was off into the wild blue yonder.

"OMG Alya!" she whispered desperately.

"You were gonna delete that text, you don't need to!" 

They heard Adrien's phone buzz and watched him reach into his bag for it. 

"You can thank me in 5, 4, 3, 2--"

"OMG who's texting you Adrikins?" cooed a saccharinely sweet voice. It was Chloe, and Alya could tell that Adrien was annoyed.

Before Adrien could even get ahold of his phone, Chloe got it and read the text. "EW! Marinette wants to know if you'll come over and play Ultimate Mecha Strike III after school! As if! That game is sooo last year, right Adrikins? I have the Jagged Stone version of Rock Band! You can come over and play with me after school." Chloe was batting her eyelashes. Marinette looked down.. she hadn't mean for the whole entire class to find out that revelation!

Adrien snatched his phone away, any easygoing facade he had previously wore was gone, he made no attempt to hide his distaste now.

"Butt out, Chloe." he said darkly. A nervous laughter went up among the class.

Chloe blinked, hurt.

"Wh-What?"

"You heard me." he said evenly.

"But, Adriki--"

"BUTT OUT! I can speak for myself!" he yelled, finally losing his patience with his first friend. A silent chill fell over the room.

Chloe's lower lip quivered, "FINE THEN! And here I was going to give you all my favorite cheat codes!" she lamented, trudging back to her desk, leaving Sabrina to comfort her.

Marinette was totally unprepared for the return text that read. " _Sure, be there at 4_."

~*~*~*~

"Whoa, dude, what was that about?" asked Nino at lunch.

"What do you mean?"

"You yelled at Chloe--nobody yells at Chloe, not even teachers!" hissed Nino.

Adrien rolled his eyes. "She just bugged me today, that's all. I mean, she read the text message aloud in front of everybody. What if that had been Natalie asking me if all of my gym underwear was clean? Or Dad ordering me around? Nobody needs to know that!"

"Got a point dude, the underwear text would've been really funny, though."

Adrien scowled. 

"Whoa, the room just got colder. You alright?"

"I guess I'm just in a bad mood." 

"You've been funky since the last big Akuma attack, you okay dude?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He couldn't explain it to Nino, he just wouldn't understand just how deep his grief went for Ladybug. But since he'd shared that moment on the balcony with Marinette as Chat Noir he knew _she_ would.

"You don't seem fine. Nobody you knew got hurt in the Akuma attack, did they?"

"Not hurt." Adrien said at length. "Missing, more like."

"Oh man... I didn't know."

"Don't tell anybody." he begged. "M-My Dad doesn't like for me to talk about it." he covered. "Since they're just missing." 

"Totally dude, my lips are sealed."

"Thanks, man."

"So, you going over to Marinette's this afternoon?"

"Yeah, it'll be good to unwind and just play video games for awhile."

"You can do that at my house too, yano."

"I... yeah?" Adrien looked at Nino.

"You haven't been hanging out a lot lately, dude. I'm worried about you."

"Sorry." Adrien hedged. He had been quiet, and moody, and miserable lately and he hadn't really told anyone why. 

"How about Saturday? I got the new Jagged Stone rock band edition too."

"Sure thing!" grinned Adrien, high-fiving his friend.

Some glowering eyes caught his attention. It was Chloe, she was pouting from across the courtyard. He knew that if he left her to fester she'd cause and Akuma, and Ladybug was gone. So he would apologize, besides, he wasn't sure of what to do with an Akuma by himself--it's not like he could capture them.

"Just a sec, Nino."

"Alright, dude."

Adrien made his way over to the snooty blonde, she was playing with her phone and looking absolutely furious.

"Chloe?"

"Hmph!"

"Chloe, come on, I'm sorry. I'm just... going through some stuff right now."

"Oh, Adrikins, you know you can tell me anything, ri--"

He instantly regretted his decision. "Chloe... you're my friend, but... I can't talk to you about this."

"Why not?" she gasped. "You're not dying, are you Adrikins?"

"NO! It's nothing like that, it's just... I'm not ready to feel better yet."

Chloe always had a knack for, if someone was feeling bad, to distract them with the most opposite thing in the world, to make them happy again. When his Mom disappeared, Chloe had come over with a lot of funny movies and hadn't left until he had cracked a smile. If distraction was what you were after, then Chloe was your girl, but right now.. he had to work through his emotions by himself.

"Awwww, Adrien..." she looked at him with genuine concern. "That makes me sad."

"I'll be okay, Chloe." he said softly. "When I'm ready to feel better, I'll let you know."

"I'll be waiting." she smiled and waved a tiny wave at him. He smiled back and turned away. Now that his friends were soothed, he could just focus on moving on.

~*~*~*~


	4. BOOM!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor, triggered Adrien.

That afternoon, Marinette was waiting in her room when she heard her parents talking to someone downstairs. She hoped her Dad wasn't interrogating Adrien, or her Mom wasn't showing him baby pictures... worse yet, refrigerator art. She liked to think she had improved since her elementary and kindergarten days.

She heard them climbing the stairs to her room, "One day, I'll take you on, man to man, Mr. Agreste." said her Dad in a mock-threatening voice. "I taught Mari everything she knows about Ultimate Mecha Strike III, I want to see YOU in action."

Adrien laughed. Oh, that sweet, glorious laugh! "No worries, Mr. Dupain-Cheng, you're welcome to join us!"

" _No, Adrien, he's not. Not today! Please_?" she begged mentally.

"If only." sighed the baker, "Alas, I have to go make 7 minute icing for a wedding cake."

Marinette could hear the longing in Adrien's voice, "Oh, you're so lucky!"

"Why don't you come around to the bakery one Saturday and watch me work?"

"SURE! As soon as I can!"

Marinette forgave Adrien for trying to invite her Dad to their gaming session. It couldn't be so bad if he was coming back, right?

Right.

The door to her room opened and Adrien stepped inside, he was carrying a plate of croissants.

"I'm not letting these beauties get away from me again." he said, eyeing the plate of croissants with a feral grin. Suddenly a wisp of memory came to Marinette, it infuriated her because she couldn't quite place it. Just where had she seen that grin before???

"What is it, Marinette?"

"Oh.. nothing, just deja-vu." she shrugged. "I have amnesia, you know. It reminded me of something that I can't remember."

"Oh. Sorry?" he tried.

"No, it's okay. They said it'd be this way until my memory comes back." she shrugged. 

They settled in to play Mecha Strike III, the plate of croissants nearby Adrien.

~*~*~*~

Around 3 hours and two plates of croissants later, they were both engrossed in the game, when they reached a new level.

"YEAH!" cried Adrien, pumping his fist in the air, high-fiving Marinette.

She giggled and high-fived him back, hoping he didn't see how much she was blushing from his touch.

"YES! Level 56! I've never been this far before! You're amazing, Marinette, I could've never done it without you!"

Her heart fluttered. "But you were the one who saved me."

"Ha, not half as much as you saved me." he grinned, winking at her.

" _Adrien, I'm still recovering, one more wink and my heart's going to stop_!" she thought dizzily.

"I had to save my Dad a lot, he kept getting smashed on this level."

"You've made it past level 56 before?!"

"Only with Dad, not by myself." said Marinette.

"That's legendary." he breathed.

Marinette smiled modestly. She had such a pretty smile... though, why is it whenever she looked at him she looked like a deer in the headlights? 

Suddenly he was jolted out of his reverie by a loud explosion in-game.

"Holy crap!" quickly he grabbed the controller. "Let's go!"

"On it!" cried Marinette, thankful for the attention to be off of her.

Marinette's voice sounded so much like Ladybug's at that moment, that it made him jump.

" _Calm down, idiot_." he told himself, trying to get his footing in-game. 

This level was especially hard, they had to avoid landmines at every turn. 

"Adrien, hang left!" said Marinette.

Quickly, he used the joystick to jump left, when he did he was suddenly in a map of the Champs-Elysees, the last place he'd seen Ladybug.

"That's... really realistic." he observed, biting his lip.

"Yeah." agreed Marinette. "I've actually never been to this part of the map before."

"Huh." he commented. " _It would figure_." he thought miserably.

"Now, if we keep going this way, it should lead us out." said Marinette.

"But what about the mecha footsoldiers?"

"A big enough blast should take care of them." said Marinette, a crafty smile playing about the corner of her lips.

"You are speaking my language, mon ami." he grinned.

That grin, it made her heart stop... in more ways than one. Where had she seen it before? This was really bugging her. She wished her memory would return already. It would make her life so much easier. 

She placed the blasting caps strategically, so the now marching mechas would run into them as they moved forward.

"That should take care of those guys." she giggled. "Ready to jet?"

"You betcha!" grinned Adrien.

It was working! The mecha footsoldiers weren't doing very well against the blasting caps placed in their path.

"Haha! Take that!" cried Adrien, pumping his fist in the air.

Suddenly, Marinette found herself unable to move in-game. The joystick was frozen. She was right in the path of the next blasting cap!

"Ohhh! Crap!" she cried, banging her joystick against the table.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm about to die."

"What? NOO!" Adrien grabbed the joystick and tried everything in an attempt to free her, but it was no use.

_BOOM_!

Adrien watched in horror as the Champs-Elysees went up in flames. It was eerily similar to the Akuma attack that had taken his lady.

**Game Over**

Yes indeed, the game was over, no more games, no more saving the world with her... no more anything. She was gone. And there was no reset button to bring her back.

"NOOO THAT'S NOT FAIR!" he cried, falling to his knees.

"A-Adrien?"

Marinette didn't understand, she didn't know what he had lost. He quickly scrubbed at his eyes. "S-Sorry..."

"I-It's just a game, Adrien. It'll take a few minutes, but I can reset it."

"I-It's not that..." he could barely keep his voice under control. "I-It just reminded me of th-the attack."

Recognition suddenly dawned on Marinette's features.

"Oh... oh I'm sorry! Did you lose someone--"

"Kind of... they're... missing. My Dad doesn't like for me to talk about it, since we don't know." he hated lying to her.

"That attack was bad... several people were lost, including Ladybug."

"I heard." Adrien struggled to keep his voice strong. "It's not fair that someone so good died that young."

"No, it's not." she sighed. "They found me in the same area they would've found her, they looked for days though... and Ladybug was never found."

"Yeah... I was helping look for her. My Dad was in Milan, that's the only way I could get away from my schedule to do it." he shook his head. It hurt to talk about the days of coming up empty handed.

"I feel sorry for Chat Noir."

"Why him?"

"Because... he seems so lost without her, and it seems they were really close. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was in love with her."

" _Your observation powers are spot on, Mon Ami_." he thought painfully.

"I hope you find who you're looking for soon." she said softly, patting his shoulder.

"Thank you..." he answered brokenly. Somehow, Marinette had a way of soothing the pain that no one else did.

~*~*~*~

Plagg's Kwami senses were tingling. They had been for awhile, but now they were out of control. Of course he couldn't tell Adrien anything, but now, more than ever, they had to find that freakin' change purse! 

He knew that sometimes if a Kwami and its holder were separated traumatically, that the holder sometimes 'forgot' their identity until they were reunited again. It had happened to him with one of the previous Chat Noirs, fortunately, Tikki had been there to find him and put him back in his holder's presence, it had taken a little while, but eventually all of his holder's memories had returned.

Now he had to do the same for Tikki.

" _Now if I could just find her... and hope this dolt doesn't blow our cover while he's over there blubbering about Ladybug_." although, he had to admit, the lie about his Dad not wanting him to talk about it was pretty convincing. From observation, it was definitely something Gabriel would do, and Adrien had said as much about his Mother's disappearance, his Father forbid him to talk about it with anyone. (However, Kwami's didn't count, so Adrien had told Plagg all the juicy details, and it seemed fishy, even to him, but since it wasn't a magical disappearance, he couldn't really look into it.)

He peered out of Adrien's schoolbag, watching Marinette comfort his brokenhearted holder. 

" _How did I not see it before_?"

The way she comforted Adrien reminded him so much of Tikki, goodhearted, selfless, upbeat, positive... yes, it would make perfect sense that Tikki would belong to such a girl. Also, the blue-black hair color wasn't all that common. Thankfully, Kwamis could know other holder's identities without tipping off their own holders in the process, shared consciousness wasn't a thing. (If it had been, Plagg would've died of embarrassment a long time ago.) 

" _Tonight we patrol the Champs-Elysees_."


	5. Kwami on the Quai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg and Adrien make a discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT SURE IF THE QUAI D'ORSAY IS NEAR THE CHAMPS-ELYSEES, IN FACT I'M PRETTY SURE IT ISN'T BUT MY GOOGLE FAILED ME. :( But there is a museum called the Quai near Champs Elysees, so bear with me. Geography is not my strong suit. :P AGAIN, I'M SORRY! Also there is one lady in here that is an OC, but she's an old, Grandmotherly type and I just didn't think Master Fu would fit in here. So... :P

Adrien seemed more restless than ever that night, all he wanted to do was go out and patrol the city. The game had made him antsy, he needed to block out the memory of losing his Lady.

"Hey loverboy." said Plagg, mouth full of cheese.

"Don't call me that." said Adrien bitterly.

"Seriously, I got an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Why don't we search for Marinette's purse tonight?"

"I've seen enough of the Champs-Elysees for a lifetime, Plagg." he said sadly.

"I know, kid, but you did promise Marinette." reminded Plagg. 

"I know, but..."

"Ladybug would want you to."

The Kwami had a point.

"I don't think I'm as good as Ladybug..."

"Will you stop selling yourself short?!" cried Plagg, exasperated. 

"I couldn't save her, Plagg! You don't get it!"

Plagg crossed his arms. "Marinette, or Ladybug?"

"You know who I mean..." answered Adrien miserably.

"Kid, you know she wouldn't want you moping like this!"

"Then what else am I supposed to do?! I can't fight Akumas by myself and waiting around on the next Ladybug to be chosen could take forever! I could be Dad's age by the time that happens!"

Plagg stifled a laugh. He knew if Ladybug were really dead, that it wouldn't take that long for the next one to be called. 

"Kid, you want to be able to say goodbye to her, right?"

"More than anything..." admitted Adrien.

"Then help me find the freakin' changepurse!" demanded Plagg, finally losing patience.

"Alright, fine. Wait, are you fueled up?"

"Wow, the yeti is comin' down from the mountains as we speak. You're actually being considerate."

Adrien tapped his foot impatiently. "Well?"

"One more piece and I'll have it." replied Plagg, stuffing the last bite of cheese in his mouth.

"Alright, Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"

~*~*~*~  
'  
Adrien wanted nothing more than to go back home and crawl back into bed, but he was a man on a mission, and he had to find this stupid changepurse or else he would never get to say goodbye to Ladybug. Even if it was just through her Kwami, at least then she'd have an idea of how he felt for her. 

" _Slow down_!" he heard Plagg's voice in his head.

" _Tell me where you think it is_!" urged Adrien mentally.

Plagg hated to do this, but... 

" _Where was the last place you saw Ladybug around here_?"

Adrien winced. 

"Um..." he nodded to some rubble beside the metro.

" _Oooh yeah, that's still roped off. But hey, the metro isn't_!"

Marinette's purse could have easily fallen down the metro, he could always look there. 

He took a deep breath and trudged down into the metro station, hoping that he would find whatever he was looking for quickly.

~*~*~*~

An hour later he had searched almost every inch of the metro, to no avail.

" _I think its time we went home, Plagg_." he thought defeatedly.

" _Kid, it's gotta be around here somewhere_."

" _Then why don't you look for it while I"m at school_?"

" _Are you kidding? Somebody'll think I'm a bat and kill me! Come on, just a little while longer_!"

" _Alright but I'm taking a seat for awhile. Maybe it'll help me think_." 

" _Good boy_ "

Suddenly, Adrien heard beautiful violin music from another part of the metro. He followed it to the nearest bench, beside him was an old woman playing Tchaikovsky's "None but the lonely hearts".

He was transfixed.

The violin seemed to be saying everything he couldn't at the moment.

He thought about that day, how he had lost her.

" _Ladybug, grab my hand_!"

She had tried to swing toward him using her yo-yo, but something had gone terribly wrong, the string had gotten caught on something and down she went with the building.

As the song ended, he found himself, head in hands, fighting back tears.

"Is everything okay, young man?" asked the musician.

"I-I'll be okay..."

The older woman tilted her head. "Why, you're Chat Noir."

"Y-Yeah?"

"You lost someone very dear to you."

Chat only nodded. God it was hard to keep up this facade in front of people.

"My husband went missing in the attack too." said the elder woman. "I was playing this for him. Maybe, wherever he is, he can still hear my music." she smiled sadly.

Chat tilted his head. "Yeah?"

"The body is temporary dear, but the soul is everlasting. When we die, we just leave for another plane of existence."

"I... I wish I could be sure." he admitted. 

"If there's anything your heart wishes to tell your loved one, think of them when they were the most happy, and send those thoughts toward them. You can even tell them aloud, if you're brave enough."

"And... they can hear you?"

"Sometimes, yes. Sometimes they even send back a confirmation."

"How?"

"I asked my dear husband, if he could still hear my music, to please send someone who would be as moved by it as he always was... and then, lo and behold, I have someone sitting next to me who is." she smiled a beautiful smile. Even though she was far advanced in years, he could tell that once she had been very, very beautiful.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Olivia."

"That's a beautiful name."

"Oh, thank you." she grinned. "You seem very troubled, what did you want to tell your loved one?"

He looked down. "That I loved her."

"Oh my... you never got to?"

He shook his head. "Not properly."

The metro was, for once, quiet, No one was really milling about, in fact this part seemed to be deserted.

"Then, tell her. Imagine her when she was happiest, and tell her everything that is in your heart."

He swallowed hard, imagining all the times they had battled Akumas together, he could remember how joyful she always ways to shout " _Miraculous Ladybug_!" after the Akuma had been captured.

"L-Ladybug?" he began. "I-If you can hear me... I'd like a confirmation, i-it doesn't have to be now... it can be later." he tried to keep his voice steady. "I... I don't know how to say this, I've never actually said goodbye to anyone before, but..." his voice hitched.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, I should've dove right after you and I tried, but I couldn't find you... nobody could, milady." 

Olivia placed a hand on his shoulder, so young to experience such a white-hot level of pain.

"I-I want you to know that your sacrifice was not in vain... M-Marinette survived." he scrubbed his cheek frantically. "A-And... that I..."

The boy's shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"I love you..." he whispered. "A-And I always will."

Olivia smiled, patting his back. "That was beautiful, young man."

"Th-Thank you."

Suddenly, something in her violin case caught his eye.

"Um, Miss? How long have you had that?" he asked, pointing to a small, round changepurse in her violin case.

"Oh, it fell into my violin case the day of the attack." she said, off-hand. "I was going to turn it into the lost and found, but I guess I forgot."

"I think it belongs to a friend of mine." he said politely, "Can I see it?"

"Of course."

He picked up the change purse and inspected it, sure enough, it was Marinette's. The same kind of clasp, the same embroidered flowers, the same everything. He smiled to himself.

"You know Miss, I think you're onto something. I came down here to find my friend's changepurse, and here it is... just like Ladybug would've wanted me to.

"See? Confirmation." 

"Thank you Mrs--"

"Cartier."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cartier." he bowed, before taking the change purse and bounding off.

~*~*~*~

Adrien had wanted to take the changepurse straight to Marinette, but he remembered what he promised Plagg, and stopped by the mansion first. Fortunately, everyone was asleep so no one heard him bound through his open window.

"I think that was officially the weirdest thing I've ever experienced." said Plagg.

"She heard me, Plagg! She really heard me, and she wants me to give this purse back to Marinette!"

"Yeah, I get that. I'm still havin' trouble wrappin' my head around that one, kid. Hang on a second... in fact..." Plagg looked down. "Why don't you give me a minute alone with this? It's probably not gonna be real pretty."

Adrien shrugged, "Sure, I'll go shower."

Plagg reluctantly opened the twist-lock of the change purse.

" _I'm sorry Tikki_ \--" he began.

"P-Plagg...?" asked a tiny voice.

"TIKKI?!" he cried, opening the purse the rest of the way so his friend could crawl out.

"PLAGG!" she tried to climb out, but she was weak. He lifted her onto his shoulders.

"Tikki, I was so worried about you! I thought you were--"

"Plagg, if you remember, I lived through the burning of Rome. This was a piece of cake... speaking of cake..."

Poor Tikki, looked so tired and hungry.

"I'm on it!" quickly, Plagg found some snacks Adrien had lying around his room. Fortunately, the boy was fond of sweets, so Tikki was well fueled in a few minutes.

"Oh, thank you, Plagg." sighed Tikki, contentedly. "That was the longest time of my life! How long was I in there?"

"Awhile." said Plagg. "Do you know what happened to your holder?"

"I was hoping you did." frowned Tikki. 

"I have my suspicions, but Tikki, if you want me to help, you're gonna have to tell me who your holder is. I won't tell Adrien, cat's honor!"

Tikki sighed.

"There really isn't any other way..." she admitted. "How is Marinette?"

Plagg's eyes widened. "Seriously? Marinette?"

Tikki nodded. "Yeah. But you can't tell anyone!"

"Hey, you kept my secret, once upon a time. I'll gladly keep yours."

"Thank you Plagg, I knew I could count on you. But how do we not tell Adrien?"

"He's showering right now and he plans on taking the changepurse back to Marinette soon, you could get back in there and--"

"Plagg, I've been in there close to a month if I have to go back in there again--"

"You're right, bad idea. Besides... Marinette has amnesia, she says whole blocks of her memory are gone."

"Like Sebastian's was?"

"Yeah... only the Ladybug parts. The doctors think its from a bump on the head, but I think it's the same thing that happened during the boxer rebellion."

"So... if Marinette is to get her memories back, I somehow have to get under her pillow." pondered Tikki. 

They were going to need a really good plan if they were to get her back to Marinette without Adrien knowing everything. 

"Tikki? I missed you."

"I missed you too, Plagg."

~*~*~*~


	6. How rude!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe returns to being her old self... >_< And I'm sorry if you think that the latter part is out of character for Alya, but... Chloe deserved it.

"So, were you bored to tears at Marinette's yesterday, Adrikins?" asked Chloe, the next day at school.

"No, we had a good time. We got past level 56 on Ultimate Mecha Strike III."

Chloe was slightly envious, after all she had never made it past level 25.

"You should've come to my house, me and Sabrina had a great time with the Jagged Stone Edition of Rockband."

"Actually, I'm going to Nino's house this weekend to play it. You can come if you want."

Chloe looked as if Adrien had just kicked her. How was she supposed to get woo him with her fabulous guitar playing skills in front of Nino?! Besides, his house probably didn't even have surround sound and proper acoustics.

"Like, no thank you."

"Suit yourself." shrugged Adrien, taking out his books.

What was wrong with him? She had done everything that magazine had told her to aside from home cooking a candlelight dinner (and Chloe was not about to do that, that was what her Chef was for.) for the two of them and Adrien still hadn't fallen for her yet? What was WRONG with him?!

Marinette suddenly walked in the room, prompted a friendly wave from Adrien. She watched as the girl waved shyly back.

" _Oh is that how you like your girls? Too afraid to speak to you? Ugh. Maybe I should just give you the silent treatment from now on_." she thought bitterly. However, it was just a fleeting thought because if there's one thing Chloe couldn't stand, it was to be silent for more than 5 minutes. She thought it was boring. 

However she could make Marinette suffer. Besides, that's whose fault this was. Adrien was hers until _she_ had stepped into the picture.

It might take her a couple of hours to come up with the punishment, but it would definitely fit the crime.

~*~*~*~

At lunch, Marinette was making her way to go sit with Alya when Chloe stopped her.

"I heard Adrien was bored to tears yesterday playing that stupid game at your house." she laughed. "Better luck next time."

Marinette shook her head. "Adrien told me he had a nice time--"

"Oh, Adrien's just being nice, you know how he is! He said you made it past level 56 but not without his help." said Chloe is a sing-song voice.

Marinette knew Chloe was lying then.

"No, he didn't." she said firmly, teeth clenched.

"I bet! I bet you were clinging to him saying 'Oh, Adrien, save me!'" simpered Chloe in a most annoying fashion. Sabrina and a couple of other girls were laughing in a most infuriating way.

"Actually, it was me who helped Adrien past level 56. Thankyouverymuch--"

Marinette started to brush past her but Chloe stood in front of her again.

"Oh, you were playing hero? Like that day they found you on the Champs-Elysees?"

"Wh-What?" asked Marinette.

"You were stumbling around shrieking 'Miraculous Ladybug!' and 'Lucky Charm!' like an idiot while they were trying to load you into an ambulance, they had to tranq you like an Elephant to get you to calm down!"

Everyone was silent.

Marinette trembled... so that's why no one had told her about how they had found her. How humiliating! 

"I guess if that's what Adrien's into--"

"No, that's not what I'm _into_." Adrien intruded into the conversation. "Chloe, what the _hell_?"

Marinette fled.

"Good, she's gone. You can come sit with--"

"NO, CHLOE!" cried Adrien. 

"Marinette didn't KNOW about that!" cried Alya, leaping up from the table. "We'd all agreed not to tell her until she was BETTER!"

"Well too bad--"

* _SMACK_ *

Chloe hadn't been expecting that, down she went as Alya's hand connected with her cheek.

"OH MY GOD YOU HIT ME!"

"And I'd do it again!" 

Adrien skirted out of the way as professor Damocles stepped in to pull apart the two girls. He ran in the direction he'd seen Marinette going. It didn't take long for him to find her, she was outside the school by the steps, hiding behind a large hedge, sobbing.

"Marinette?"

"I-Is that why no one was t-telling me the truth?" she sobbed.

"I... don't know, Marinette. I didn't know about it. I wasn't there when they found you." he said.

"Good, you didn't get to see me make a fool of myself." she sobbed.

"Look, the way I heard it.. Ladybug saved you. You were the last person she saved before she left this earth. So with that bump on the head, you probably were just repeating what you heard her say."

"I-I guess."

"Marinette, you got a really bad head injury, you couldn't help that."

"M-Maybe not, but..."

"I'm sorry."

"J-Just... leave me alone." she couldn't handle being around Adrien right now. Suddenly, Mrs. Bustier appeared.

"Marinette, we've called your parents, Professor Damocles says he thinks its best for you to have the rest of the day away from school."

"What about Chloe?" asked Adrien. "Did you call her Dad too?"

"Don't worry, Adrien, Chloe will be dealt with. As well as Mrs. Cesaire."

Marinette looked horrified. "Alya?! What happened to Alya?!"

"She has a great right hook!" grinned Adrien. There was that grin again, that grin that she was sure she remembered from somewhere, but where?

"Oh, don't go too hard on her, Mrs. Bustier, it was really--"

"Marinette, this was not your fault. Professor Damocles will be fair."

"To Chloe too, right?" asked Adrien. 

"Why are you taking HER side?!" cried Marinette. "Why are you even FRIENDS with her?! She's AWFUL!!!"

Adrien realized just how awful it had sounded, coming out of his mouth.

"M-Marinette, I-I--"

"I can assure you, all parties will be punished fairly." said Mrs. Bustier. "Come along, Marinette, I'm going to wait with you in the office."

Marinette glowered at him before being led away by Mrs. Bustier.

" _Oh my God I just screwed it all up didn't I_?"


	7. Amends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does Chloe finally get her comeuppance? Does Adrien get another chance to not be an unwitting jerk? Did Alya survive? Find out on AS THE BUG TURNS--I'm kidding, read the fic. ;) Also, Gabriel makes a rare appearance as a human being in this one, so... again, sorry!

"I want to talk to you girls about something." began Professor Damocles, as soon as all the parents were gathered in the room.

"First of all, physical violence is never okay."

"She deserved it--"

"No matter what your opinions are, Ms. Cesaire."

Alya crossed her arms in defiance. 

"Secondly, Chloe... what you did could have caused Marinette a significant mental setback. In fact, she may not be able to return to school for awhile, if this whole semester."

Chloe looked supremely pleased.

"Allow me to interject, if you will, Professor Damocles." said the Mayor.

"Chloe, do you understand that what you did caused Marinette harm?"

"Oh, Daddy, please! It just made her cry! That was all! She didn't explode or anything!"

Mayor Bourgeois shook his head. "Chloe, Marinette had a brain injury. What you did could cause her to heal _wrong_ , it could affect her for a very long time, if not the rest of her life."

Chloe blinked. "Just by telling her that?"

"There was a note sent out among the parents telling us how they found her and for us not to let our own children say anything." said Mrs. Cesaire, Alya's Mother. "I assume you got the same note, Mayor Bourgeois?"

"Come to think of it, I did not."

"Oh, Daddy, you get notes from the school all the time, I just thought that it was another one of those fundraiser things! I threw it out!" giggle Chloe.

The Mayor turned very red in the face.

"Young lady, from now on, every piece of mail I get from the school addressed to me goes directly TO ME, do you understand?!"

Chloe backed down. "Y-Yes Daddy."

"This incident goes on both of your permanent records." said Professor Damocles, shaking his head. "Ms. Cesaire, you get detention for a week."

Alya hung her head.

"Ms. Bourgeois, you have detention for a month. That is the extent that I can punish you, however, I'm sure the Mayor will be fair in his discipline."

"Daddy...?"

"Make sure that her detention won't interfere with her new schedule."

"Of course, Mayor Bourgeois."

"What new schedule?! What? Daddy! You know I have to have a clear schedule so--"

"So you can continue to make trouble? Not anymore, young Lady! You will go to school, go to detention, come home, and then our driver will be taking you to read to the young, less fortunate children at the library. After that, you will come home, do your homework, have dinner and go straight to bed. None of this chatting to your friends at night! You will hand over your phone, you will only use it to contact me while you are at the library! All other numbers and apps will be blocked. Do you UNDERSTAND?!"

"D-Daddy p-please--!!!"

"I may be a lot of things, Chloe, but this is serious and you MUST pay for your actions!"

"Noooo!!!!" Chloe began to wail.

Both Alya and her Mother seemed shocked, the Mayor, up until this point, had seemed like a pushover. But this is one time, when his leadership skills were on point.

"You will _earn_ the right to talk to your friends again. And when Marinette is feeling up to going back to school, the first thing you will do is apologize to her, _publicly_."

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Chloe, I have sheltered you from the truth long enough. Life isn't fair. Are we dismissed, Professor Damocles?"

"Yes, Ms. Bourgeois can start her detention tomorrow."

"Come along, Chloe."

Chloe sobbed and wailed all the way out the door.

~*~*~*~

When Adrien told Plagg what happened, Plagg knew he was sunk.

" _Great, now that bimbo has totally blown my cover, NOW WHAT_?!"

Of course, all was not lost.

Adrien didn't know that Tikki was there. And Tikki could always follow them to Marinette's on the sly, but that could be potentially dangerous to Tikki. 

"I guess it'll be awhile before we can give that purse back to Marinette." said Adrien sadly. "I had planned on bringing it to school today, but--"

"Yeah, you forgot and now your name is mud with her, dingus!" Plagg smacked him on the back of the head.

"OW! Hey!"

However, Chat Noir's name wasn't mud. In fact, Plagg got the distinct vibe she liked him.

"Good thing she asked Chat Noir instead of you, isn't it?"

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Uh... yeah. After dinner we'll go take it back to her, my Dad wants to talk to me about what happened today."

"So they called him too, eh?"

"Yup. And he didn't sound too pleased either."

" _ADRIEN_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" thundered the elder Agreste. 

"I... I gotta go Plagg."

"I'll hold down the fort 'till you get back!"

Plagg dived under a pillow where Tikki was hiding. "Okay, I think I got a plan!"

~*~*~*~

Dinner was not pleasant.

"Adrien, I do _not_ want you involved in this." ordered Gabriel. "What Chloe did was _wrong_ -"

"I agree, Dad."

For once, his compliance silenced his Father.

"What?"

"I agree. What she did wasn't cool. It really hurt Marinette."

"Then why were you asking if Professor Damocles would go easy on her?" prodded Gabriel.

"I didn't ask that!" said Adrien. "Not like that, at least."

"Mayor Bourgeois said that when you found out Ms. Cesaire was being punished, you asked if Mr. Damocles was going to punish Chloe too--"

"Because she deserved it!" said Adrien defensively. "You know how things go, Chloe gets away with everything, she always has! She shouldn't get away with this!"

"I'm glad you agree. You won't be speaking to Chloe for awhile, she won't have time. She has a brand new schedule that I suggested to the Mayor."

" _Trust Dad to know how to throw the book at someone_." he thought, shrugging. "I kind of figured."

Gabriel gave him a skeptical look. "You don't seem too disturbed by this."

"Chloe and I have been arguing lately. She needs time to cool down." he admitted, sinking down in his chair.

"That's very adult of you, Adrien." 

For once, his Father almost sounded... proud? That couldn't be right. He had probably misheard it, yeah, that was it.

"Remember Adrien, do _not_ get involved."

"I got it, Dad."

"This includes talking to Miss Dupain-Cheng or Miss Cesaire."

"What did Marinette and Alya do?" he demanded.

"Marinette is a sick girl, until she heals and this entire thing blows over, you don't need to be involved with her. Alya is prone to violent rages, and my fall line doesn't need to be punctuated by two black eyes!"

" _God if you only knew the broken bones I risk nightly protecting Paris_!" thought Adrien, rolling his eyes. "Marinette's completely innocent and didn't do anything, she can't help she was in the wrong place at the wrong time! And Alya never hit anyone who didn't deserve it!"

"Do I need to tighten your schedule as well young man?!"

"No, but I refuse to punish Alya and Marinette for something Chloe started! They're my friends too!"

Natalie chose that moment to intervene. "Gabriel, if Adrien has any more on his plate, his grades will suffer."

Gabriel thought for a moment.

"Very well. Alright then young man, it seems for now, you've won this battle."

"Thanks, Dad." he faltered, realizing this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

~*~*~*~

"You mean I have to get back in the change purse anyway?!" cried Tikki. "UGH! Plagg!"

"I'm sorry Tikki, it's the only way Adrien won't know about you." pleaded Plagg. 

"Fine, but LEAVE THE TOP OPEN!"

"I'll tell Adrien to leave it open."

"Thank yo--"

Suddenly the door burst open, Tikki quickly flew behind a lamp. Plagg flew upwards.

Adrien closed his door.

"Plagg.. were you talking to someone?"

"Just myself. Bad habit." said Plagg, flying downward.

"I could've swore I heard another... oh well." shrugged Adrien. "I convinced Dad to let me keep talking to Marinette and Alya."

"He was going to try and stop that? Why?" 

"Because he thinks Marinette's sick and Alya's violent and I guess they're not a good influence? I don't know, I won and that's all that matters."

"Good, kid. Real good. Oh, uh, about that change purse, you may want to leave it open, just so it can continue airing out."

Adrien grimaced. "Did you find Ladybug's Kwami? Was it dead?"

"Uh.... no." Plagg lied.

"Oh..." Adrien looked crestfallen.

Plagg hated lying to him, but he couldn't risk telling him, not just yet.

"It probably escaped, which, hey, that's a good thing. Maybe we'll meet up later." Plagg shrugged. "What's a couple more millenia?"

"I'm really sorry, Plagg."

"It's okay kid, us Kwamis are kind of used to being loners." said Plagg with resignation. It was kind of true.

No one saw Tikki slip out from behind the curtain and zip into Marinette's change purse.

"I.. guess the sooner the better, right?"

"Nah, you can take your time, kid." said Plagg, absently looking around the room.

Adrien sighed. "Good, because I have a ton of a homework."

He also wasn't looking forward to facing Marinette, even as Chat Noir.

~*~*~*~

Marinette had cried steadily since she left class.

Her Mother and Father had tried to make her feel better, Alya had even called her that night and that had cheered her up a little, especially when she found out what happened to Chloe. But all in all, nothing was helping.

She didn't have to go back to class tomorrow, or, for awhile, actually. Which was nice, all she wanted to do was to hang back and be numb for awhile. Normally, she would've laughed off her concussed attempts to be Ladybug, but something about this discovery made her want to cry more. Maybe it was because she still couldn't remember it, so she didn't know how bad it was. But there was something else. Something more, like a part of her was actually _missing_ , that was making her cry.

Suddenly, she was very tired.

"I need a nap..."

Maybe she would awake feeling whole again.

~*~*~*~

When Adrien was sure that his Dad, Natalie, and the Gorilla were safely asleep, he looked up from his homework to locate Plagg. Plagg had fallen asleep on a lampshade.

"Awww..." Adrien hated to wake him up.

"Plagg, psst, hey Plagg!"

"Huh?"

"It's time, Plagg."

"Oh! Oh yeah. Let me stretch, kiddo." said the Kwami, stretching on the lampshade like a little cat. "Alright."

"Plagg, claws out!"

~*~*~*~

When he reached Marinette's balcony, she was asleep.

"Great, how do I get in?"

" _Check it, it's open._ " projected Plagg.

" _I feel like a creep_." thought Adrien.

" _Trust me, you're not. You're doing her a favor_."

" _Whatever you say._ " came the boy's despondent thoughts.

Plagg was tempted to give it all away then, but he didn't. He doubted Tikki would've given permission anyway.

Chat Noir lowered himself onto the floor of Marinette's room, she had her back to him, rolled over on her side, asleep.

" _Put it under her pillow_." commanded Plagg.

" _Won't that wake her up_?"

" _Well then as near as underneath her pillow as you can get, then_!"

Chat shrugged and made his way silently toward Marinette. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful.

"Sleep well, Princess." he bent down to kiss her forehead and slid the changepurse underneath her pillow.

He turned to go, but was suddenly pulled back, someone was yanking on his tail.

"Princess?"

Marinette had rolled over and was looking at him, tears in her eyes.

"W-What's wrong?"

Marinette threw her arms around him and cried.

" _I caused this... God, I caused this, I'm so sorry Marinette_..." he thought, stroking her hair and pulling her to him.

"I f-found out... how they f-found me..." she sobbed. "I-I thought I was L-Ladybug, I-I kept screaming 'Lucky Charm' and wandering around like an idiot..."

He winced. "You had a head injury, you weren't responsible for what you were saying."

"That's what they tell me, but Chloe was so MEAN about it, I mean she didn't have to tell me like _that_!"

Chat Noir played dumb. "What did she say?"

"Oh, she just made fun of me about it."

"That's terrible!"

Marinette continued her tale, telling him all about what Alya did, he struggled to stifle a laugh. It was still funny.

"Go ahead, you can laugh." she giggled, sniffling. He smiled and finally let himself chuckle.

"Are you going back, Princess?"

"Not tomorrow..." she sighed. "Maybe in a few days. The doctor doesn't think it's wise for me to go back just _yet._ "

"Maybe not." he admitted. Yes, it would be good for Marinette to have a break for awhile, but he would miss her. "Would you mind if I dropped in to check on you, my Princess?"

"No... no, that would be okay." she said demurely.

He noticed she didn't mention his own faux pax, and thank God for that, he was pretty sure even Chat Noir couldn't explain that one away.

"I hope you feel better, Princess." he said softly, kissing her forehead once more.

It was then that Marinette leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Hungrily, he returned the kiss, reveling in the feel of her hand on the back of his neck, in his hair...

"Marinette?" called a deep voice from the staircase, it was her Dad.

They broke apart.

"Princess, I should--" he pointed to the window.

"Yeah!" she squeaked.

"Good night!" he quickly made his way out of Marinette's room. 

Marinette wiped her eyes and told her Dad "I'm okay, Dad!"

"Were you talking to someone?"

"N-No..."

"Were you crying?"

"Y-Yeah..." she sniffled.

"Mari, your Mother and I have been thinking... what if we pulled you out of school for just this one semester?"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Well, Mr. Agreste's son did most of his curriculum at home before he came to this school and he seems to be very well-adjusted--"

"Oh! No, Dad... no that's okay... I just... need a break. I think."

"Think about it, Mari. The option is always open. We want you to heal properly."

"I.. I think I'll be okay it was just so humiliating. Like she could help what she said if she had a concussion!"

Tom Dupain nodded knowingly. "Likely not, dear. I brought you something."

Her Dad produced a chocolate high-hat muffin, piled high with frosting.

"Oh... thanks Dad!"

Tikki was grateful when an entire chunk fell off the muffin and rolled near her so she could reach out and grab it. She would need her energy, for tonight, she was going to be dreamweaving.

~*~*~*~

" _LUCKY CHARM_!" she cried, suddenly a bag of marbles appeared to help her defeat an Akumatized Chloe.

" _Chat Noir and I are a team, if you take me on, you take him on as well_."

Marinette's head was filled with images--no, memories--of her fighting by his side.

" _But wait a minute, I'm not Ladybug. I never was_ \--"

" _Yes you are, Marinette_." said a sweet, high-pitched voice that she knew but couldn't place.

" _But, h-how_?"

" _You always were, we got separated, and that is why your memories are missing. It happens, sometimes._ "

" _But_..."

Suddenly the voice took form, a tiny, ladybug-like creature was talking to her. " _Wha--Tikki_?"

Everything snapped into place.

Yes, she WAS Ladybug, she remembered the last day clearly now! 

" _Oh my poor Chaton_..." she put her hand over her mouth.

" _He'll be okay, but he needs you to go help him, he's fighting an Akuma all alone right now_!"

"WHAT?!"

Marinette sat straight up in bed, in a cold sweat. She remembered everything now!

"TIKKI, SPOTS ON!"

" _I thought you'd never ask_!" said a welcome voice in her head as she dashed outside and off her balcony.


	8. Fiddler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Akuma!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I'm sorry but Marinette's still technically suffering from a concussion, so that's why she blanked out on how to put everything back together again. (That and the stress of Chat's... condition... ahem.) I STRUGGLED WITH THIS ENDING!!! (Thankful to my friend for helping me out with that, you make a wonderful sounding board, buddy!) But you'll see why Olivia could do what she did in the end. I promise. Why no, I'm not giving away things in the chapter notes, why do you ask? ;P

Ladybug followed the sounds of angry violin music to where the Akuma was.

"Holy crap this is loud!" she exclaimed. 

Buildings were rattling, windows were vibrating, if not outright shattering. Fortunately it was still bearable from her place on the rooftops, but she couldn't imagine what they were feeling down on the street.

"Where is he?!" she wondered aloud.

" _Look down_!"

There he was, fending off what seemed to be an elderly lady with a giant... fiddle?

" _I swear Hawkmoth's not even trying anymore_."

They were having a fencing match between pole and bow.

"You can't do anything without her, Chat Noir!" taunted the Akuma.

"Then. I'll. die. trying!" he growled, punctuating every word with a parry.

" _This will never do_!" quickly, she swung off the roof and down to the street below.

~*~*~*~

" _What a dick, he had to akumatize the old lady, didn't he_?!" thought Chat as he tried to block her thrusts with her bow.

And the bad thing is, she was an _excellent_ fencer. He was starting to get tired.

Suddenly, he heard a zipping sound behind him.

" _Idiot, she's not even here anymore_!" he chided himself. 

"Chat Noir, over here!"

That voice, it not only made him stop but it made the Akuma look up and scream in actual fright. (Not that he blamed it--er--her.)

He whirled around.

"M-Milady?"

There she was, in all her Ladybug glory. He had to be seeing things! 

He watched as she swung overhead, he stopped fighting the Akuma momentarily and dashed afterward.

"COME BACK HERE YOU STUPID CAT!" screeched the Akuma, using the old lady's form to dash after him.

" _If this is a joke, it's incredibly cruel_." he thought, panting as he looked around for the spotted figure. 

"LUCKY CHARM!"

It was her. It had to be her! 

"Ghosts don't exist, Ladybug!" cried the Akuma bitterly.

"Wanna bet?"

"I'll PROVE it!" suddenly the Akuma put the bow in the fiddle strings and fired it like an arrow, it was headed straight for his Lady!

"NOOOOOOO!!!!"

~*~*~*~

Ladybug braced herself for the impact--but it never came.

Instead she came crashing to the ground as someone pushed her out of the way and heard a sickening whoosh, she shook her head, looking up. "Chat Noi--NO!!!"

The bow was sticking out of his back.

"CHAT!!!"

Chat sputtered and faltered, falling to his knees.

"M-Milady... i-it's in.... the bow..."

"You could've told me that before you took it in the back!" she shrieked, snapping one end off of the ill-fated bow.

The Akuma flew out.

"N-No more evildoing for you--!!" she choked back hear own tears to capture the Akuma and release the elderly lady from its grasp.. but there was no release for Chat Noir. The bow was still in his back, the ground starting to redden with his blood. 

" _This is how I'm gonna die isn't it_?" he thought, he could hear his pulse in his ears.

"Hang on, Chat Noir!" said his Lady. 

He felt arms around him, trying to steady him from falling forward. The only thing he saw was the blurry ground, he tasted blood. The pain was a dull throb every time he breathed. " _What did she hit? Oh my God what did she hit_?!" he thought as his arms finally gave way with him.

Ladybug let out a scream of grief and frustration as she held her dying partner. Her earrings were beeping, great! Now what?

Wait... why wasn't everything going back to normal? When she had done this before, everything had always went back to normal, why wasn't it doing it now?! 

" _What did I do wrong_?" she fretted as her transformation gave way.

Chat Noir suddenly opened his eyes, to see Marinette above him, tears in her eyes.

"Y-You should be in bed, Princess." he said softly.

"Ch-Chat..."

With no small amount of pain, he reached up and stroked her cheek. "It's... okay, Princess... I-I'm going to be with my lady s-soon." he sputtered, trying to grin.

"N-No Chat, p-please..!"

"D-Don't cry... it'll... hurt more... if you... cry..."

"CHAT, YOUR LADY'S RIGHT HERE!"

He shook his head. "I-I don't... see her... she only came back to... help me..." he coughed, wincing.

"Chat, oh my God, please hang on..." she sobbed, desperately looking for her phone.

Suddenly the old woman came to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Allow me to fix what has been done."

"H-How?"

She watched in amazement as the elder lady's hands began to glow, she placed them on Chat, suddenly the world was a brilliant white.

~*~*~*~

Chat Noir looked around, the place was suddenly empty... and bright? Where was he?

"Mon Frere, how are you?" said a jolly, elderly frenchman who was standing over him, dressed up like he was ready for a night at the symphony.

"Uh... well... I kinda just got impaled, but that doesn't seem to be an issue right now." blinked Chat, looking down bewilderedly.

"Here such things are of no importance." said the elderly man. "Come, you must stand. We're about to greet my lady!"

Chat got to his feet and looked around. 

Suddenly, Mrs. Olivia Cartier appeared in front of them.

"Mon Amour..." said the gentleman, kneeling to kiss her hand.

"Sebastian!" she giggled like a schoolgirl.

They were so happy, the years seemed to fall away and they were young once more, just a few years older than he and Ladybug, in fact.

"What... what is this place?" he asked.

"A place where the sun always shines, and Akumas do not exist." smiled the gentleman.

"There is no darkness here." said Olivia. "But you, dear boy... you must go back, you don't want your Lady left all alone do you?"

"But isn't this where Ladybug--"

"No, mon frere, she is not in this place! Not yet. Go back, go to your Lady!" said Sebastian. "Because I must attend to mine." as he spun Olivia around, her laughter filled his ears, and suddenly the bright place seemed to get farther away. His blurry vision returned, and there he was on the streets of Paris, head in Marinette's lap, blinking. 

"CHAT!!!" Marinette hugged him and sobbed.

He couldn't help it, something about the feel of her arms around him made him purr. 

"Hey Princess..." he said softly, stroking her hair.

"A-Are you okay, c-can you stand?" she asked tearfully.

"I can now." he got up, dusting himself off. "Why haven't things gone back to the way they were yet?"

"Ummmmmmm... good question." said Marinette.

Suddenly, Marinette heard a faint whistle from her changepurse. "Um, Chat... could you give me a moment to call my Mom and Dad?"

"Sure, Princess." he waved at her as she ducked into an alleyway and behind a dumpster. Tikki flew out, scolding her.

"You forgot the most important part!"

"I'm sorry! After he got hurt I just couldn't--"

"Remember next time it's Miraculous Ladybug!"

"Oh... OH! Oh God, Tikki!"

"No time for apologies, just do it!"

"Are you fueled enough?"

"Yes, don't worry about it, just do it!"

"Alright then, Tikki, Spots on!"

~*~*~*~

Chat Noir's excellent hearing allowed him to be privy to Marinette's call home... but something about it was strange.

" _I'm sorry, after he got hurt I just couldn't--_ "

" _Remember, next time, it's Miraculous Ladybug_!" 

His eyes widened. 

_"M-Marinette is--"_

" _KID YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO HEAR THAT_!!!" cried a voice in his head. " _Great, Tikki is gonna kill me now_!" 

" _Who?! And YOU KNEW?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME_?!" 

" _Because I didn't want you doing something extra stupid_!" 

" _A LITTLE TOO LATE NOW, ISN'T IT_?!" 

" _No, kid, that wasn't stupid, you totally saved her life but_ \--" 

_"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"_

" _Oh, just save it, Plagg. I'll deal with you later_." 

It was a good thing shared consciousness wasn't a thing, because Adrien intended on having a little bit of fun with this new knowledge. 

~*~*~*~ 

Of course, Chat Noir had insisted on walking Marinette home. He wanted to be there in case anymore Akumas were out. 

Marinette demurely let him, but inside she was flipping out. He had almost seen her transformation and almost seen Tikki. That was way too close for comfort. 

"You seem antsy tonight, Princess." he said non-chalantly. "I think it's safe out, no more Akumas. My lady made sure of that." 

"Oh... it's not that, I'm just afraid you... um..." she looked away. 

"You're afraid for me? Why?" 

"It's not every day you see someone get impaled." she said shyly. 

"True." he replied. "How did you get there so fast, Princess?" 

"Oh..." she searched for an explanation. "Sleepwalking. I sometimes do that. Especially since the bump on the head." 

"Then... are you sure you aren't still dreaming?" 

"No, I pinched myself when you were dying, I didn't wake up." she covered quickly. 

He felt bad. But not bad enough not to continue. 

"I thought I saw a ghost tonight..." 

"I know." she said softly. "Ladybug's back and now Paris is safe again, it's wonderful!" 

"Indeed." suddenly he grabbed her waist and vaulted onto her rooftop. She bit back a squeal. 

"Marinette," he stroked her cheek. "When you said 'your lady is right here', what did you mean?" 

Marinette swallowed hard. 

"Uh... oh! I just meant she was over there, looking for more Akumas." 

"There's usually only one Akuma..." he reasoned. 

"Oh, well, yeah, _usually_ , but I guess she had to be thorough!" 

"That, she is... but tonight she forgot one thing..." 

"Um, what do you mean?" Marinette played dumb, she was hoping he would give it a rest. 

"I mean, she forgot to put everything back together again. That's not like her." 

Marinette laughed. "Oh, I'm sure she didn't forget, she was just a little late, is all." 

"True... I mean, she did just get back from a really bad accident." he shrugged. 

"I can relate." she giggled uneasily. 

"I bet you can, Milady." he said gently, kneeling to kiss her hand. 

Marinette's heart thudded, "Ch-Chat I-I-" 

"I... know." he stopped her. "I won't tell anyone, Cat's honor." 

Marinette's lower lip quivered. 

"B-But I don't know who you are..." 

"That can be easily arranged--" 

"NO!" she cried. "No... no, not yet." she shook her head. "I... I'm not ready to know yet. Please understand." 

He sighed. "I guess... it's for the best. But I promise I won't say anything. Your secret's safe with me." 

"Thank you, Chat." 

~*~*~*~ 

"I hope you know that your wardrobe is gonna be my new camembert stash!" cried Plagg the moment they were in his room at home. 

"You LIED to me about not finding Ladybug's Kwami, and you knew about who she was and you didn't tell me! That's not cool, Plagg!" 

"I did that for your own good, kid! Marinette needed her Kwami's help to remember, not yours!" 

"No more secrets, Plagg!" 

"Whatever, you would've messed it all up and you know it, these things are delicate!" 

"Yeah I bet." snorted Adrien. 

"It was nice seeing Sebastian again, though..." said Plagg, almost wistfully. 

"Sebastian, is that...?" 

"He was a friend of mine a long time ago, kid." 

"Was he another Chat Noir?" 

Plagg nodded sadly. 

"Oh, Plagg... I'm sorry." 

"Nah it's okay... he lived a lot longer than I expected him to." 

~*~*~*~ 

Later, Marinette asked Tikki. "Tikki, how could that lady do what she did for Chat?" 

Tikki sighed. "A long time ago, we knew each other." 

"She was a former ladybug?!" 

Tikki nodded sadly. "Yes... and she always had healing powers, but they drained her so. That's part of why she had to stop being Ladybug, she got so weak. She wanted to heal everyone. I told her that she couldn't always do that, but... Olivia had a mind of her own." 

"Oh, Tikki, I'm so sorry!' 

"It's okay, Marinette, she's happy now.. she's entered the place where the sun always shines, and Akumas don't exist." 

"But you're not, Tikki." 

"No, I'll always miss her." said Tikki, wiping away a tear. "But, I know that she left doing what she loved to do, and that was making people better." 

Marinette gave Tikki a hug. "I'm glad your back, Tikki." 

"I'm glad to be back too, Marinette." 

_THE END -- FOR NOW_

_Note: Yeah the totaly ID reveal ain't gonna be in this fic. ;) Sorry! XD_


End file.
